The hits just keep on coming for the Angels, who lost shortstop Erick Aybar for what could be an extended period of time on Monday.

Aybar left the Angels' game against the Brewers after Casey McGehee executed a takeout slide, causing Aybar to go down in a heap. He was able to hobble off while putting a little weight on the leg, which is encouraging news.

McGehee was on base after being hit by a pitch, likely in retaliation for teammate Randy Wolf's plunking of two Angels. McGehee was less than pleased with being plunked and his takeout slide of Aybar sparked uproar.

The Angels' official website said that Aybar suffered an hyperextended left knee. It is unknown how long Aybar will be out, but a DL stint is not out of the question as most injuries of this type require a period of rest. It is also possible that Aybar tore his ACL, which can happen on more forceful hyperextensions, but the severity of the injury has yet to be reported.

The injury to Aybar is the latest injury to befall a team struggling to deal with the losses of key players in free agency as well as the freak injury to Kendry Morales celebrating a walkoff grand slam. Reports have linked the Angels to Paul Konerko as a way to replace some thump in the offense, but even Konerko can't help the Angels with the loss of Aybar. He was hitting .272/.336/.352 on the season over 261 at-bats.

Maicier Izturis figures to slide over to third, leaving a vacancy open that Kevin Frandsen and Brandon Wood will likely fill. Wood is on the disabled list but will come off it at some point soon -- perhaps even switching places with Aybar -- and will try to reverse his struggles that have seen him go from a former top prospect to a bust.

So far, the Angels have resisted the urge to panic after taking a look at the motley crew that comprises their lineup. They've stayed the course, hoping Mike Napoli can man first on a regular basis once Jeff Mathis returns from the disabled list to catch.

Is that the right course for the team, though?

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Timessays that the Angels could have Paul Konerko "today," if they wanted to. Whether that means the Angels have a deal in place or can get Konerko as long as they give up enough, nobody knows.

This isn't the first time Konerko has been linked to the Angels. He seemed to be on the verge of signing with the Angels following Chicago's World Series victory in 2005, only to remain with the club.

Konerko is enjoying a career season at the age of 34. He currently has 17 home runs on the season and is hitting at a .291 clip. He would help near every team on the market, but the Angels aren't exactly hot to trot for his services.

That's because, for all the doom and gloom surrounding their offense, the Angels rank sixth in all of baseball with 313 runs scored. A lot of that has to do with manager Mike Scioscia's patented brand of aggressive offense, but also the efforts of players such as Torii Hunter and Napoli.

The Angels might be wise to see how the next month plays out before deciding whether or not to cash in on Konerko. The White Sox aren't going to yank Konerko from the market, and LA ranks 21st in the bigs in ERA with a 4.40 mark.

-- Evan Brunell

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It's been more than two weeks since Kendry Morales broke his leg, costing him the rest of the season, and the Angels still haven't added a first baseman. The Orange County Registerpoints out that the three players who have filled in at the position since have batted a collective .230.

Despite that lack of production, the Angels have been strong offensively in winning 12 of the 15 games since losing Morales. Still, Morales was an important part of the offense (he batted .306 with 108 RBI last year), and with the Angels sitting a half-game behind Texas in the American League West it would behoove them to bulk up that spot in the lineup.

Bill Plunkett argues in the Register that the best financial move would be to wait on a first baseman until just before the trade deadline. Letting the Astros pay Lance Berkman's salary for another seven weeks, for example, would save the Angels $3.9 million in salary. Surely someone in the accounting office has pointed that out.

The good news is that there are a number of players thought to be available, so the Angels should still have some options if they wait a while. But if they start to fall back in the standings, or the offense falls off, pressure will increase on them to plug what has become a hole in the lineup.

-- David Andriesen For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsmlb on Twitter.

Lowell, 36, is hitting .225/.313/.338 in limited time with the Red Sox. Lowell finds himself behind new third baseman Andre Beltre and Kevin Youklis at first. Lowell has 80 plate appareances in 27 games for the Red Sox and is in the lineup tonight, just his third game this month.

However, Lowell may be needed. Kevin Youkilis is out of tonight's game after leaving Thursday night's game with back spasms. Manager Terry Francona said Youlilis should be available to pnch hit Friday and would be back in the lineup Saturday, according to MASN .

Interleague play opens up again Friday and yet again I'm underwhelmed by the Reds-Royals, Mets-Orioles and Pirates-Tigers.

But it's not just those mashups of also-rans that have begun to bore -- anyone excited for Cubs-White Sox? A's-Giants? Dodgers-Angels? Aren't those the reasons we're still stuck with a bastardized schedule? OK, it's Mets-Yankees and nothing else.

Every time this argument comes up, we're pointed toward interleague attendance numbers, without noting that most of those dates are summer nights on the weekend -- nights when teams would draw regardless of the visiting Royals or Pirates.

So what's on tap this weekend for our interleague overlords?

• White Sox at Cubs: Nurse that hangover from the Blackhawks parade at Wrigley. What does it say that the NHL in June will overshadow one of the prime interleague matchups? Everything, really.

There's no word on how the doctor celebrated the successful surgery, but it was surely muted in light of Morales breaking the bone in his post-game celebration following a walk-off grand slam against the Mariners on May 29.

The Angels had held out hope Morales could return late in the season (and in the playoffs if they make it), but those are now dashed.

Morales led the Angels in all three triple crown categories (.290, 11 home runs 29 RBI).

-- C. Trent Rosecrans

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The All-Star game on July 13 will take place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Apparently somewhere there is a Major League Baseball memo dictating that the coaching staffs have to carpool.

All of the coaches appointed by National League manager Charlie Manuel of the Phillies and American League manager Joe Girardi of the Yankees are from California. Manuel tapped San Diego manager Bud Black and San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, and Girardi selected the Angels' Mike Scioscia and Oakland's Bob Geren.

It's not uncommon for people to be offered All-Star coaching spots and turn down the opportunity, wanting the time off instead. So it might be that managers from elsewhere simply opted not to spend their break traveling to and from the West Coast. One would certainly think Manuel extended an offer to Braves manager Bobby Cox, who is retiring after this season, his 30th as a manager.

-- Davd Andriesen

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